Around Ottawa ...
The largest community within a 50 mile [80 km] radius is Des Moines. It is located about 20 miles [32 km] to the north of Ottawa. Des Moines has a population of 212,000 people.<1>.
The next largest community is Ankeny. It is located about 28 miles [ km] to the north of Ottawa and has a population of 70,100 people.
The following is a sample of nearby communities based on their distance from Ottawa, with the nearest first.
- Milo
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milo
- Milo is located in Warren County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 760 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Milo <2>
- Ackworth
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north) - Indianola
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indianola
- Indianola is located in Warren County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 16,072 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Indianola <2>
- Liberty Center
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Center
- Liberty Center is located in Warren County
- Sandyville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandyville
- Sandyville is located in Warren County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
- Palmyra
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmyra
- Palmyra is located in Warren County
- Lacona
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacona
- Lacona is located in Warren County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 354 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lacona <2>
- Spring Hill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
- Spring Hill is located in Warren County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 65 people
- Hartford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hartford have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartford
- Hartford is located in Warren County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hartford <2>
- Continue List (6 more) ...
- Bauer
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bauer
- Bauer is located in Marion County
- Martensdale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Martensdale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martensdale
- Martensdale is located in Warren County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 470 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Martensdale <2>
- Saint Marys
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Marys have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Marys
- Saint Marys is located in Warren County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 127 people
- Carlisle
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
- Carlisle is located in Polk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,323 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carlisle <2>
- Liberty
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Liberty is located in Clarke County
- Pleasantville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasantville
- Pleasantville is located in Marion County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,714 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pleasantville <2>
- Bauer
For more communities neighboring Ottawa, please visit our County-by-County Page for Ottawa.
Polk County ...
Ottawa is located in Polk County<4>.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Polk County: Boone, Dallas, Jasper, Madison, Marion, Story & Warren.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Ottawa ...
It seems like there is always a nearby community with a name that seems interesting, maybe familiar or just catches our attention in some other way. We've collected some names which strike us as being curious or interesting. Our list can be found on the Tidbits & Trivia Page for Ottawa.
Airports Near Ottawa ...
When a trip includes a flight, we try to find an airport that best fits our travel plans.<5> To that purpose, we've assembled a list of that are relatively close to Ottawa and that information can be found on the Airports Page for Ottawa.
Websites We Enjoy ...
When we're planning a trip, we like to check the following websites for sights, attractions and places to visit.
- For the State of Iowa:
- TripAdvisor Links for:
- Also of Interest:
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ottawa. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Polk County: www.co.polk.ia.us/
The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Ottawa. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <4> | If you're interested in how the shape of Iowa's counties, including Polk, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <5> | When we are planning a trip (for example, to Ottawa), we usually look for the obvious: the choice of airlines that fly into the airport, the number of flights, the connections we have to make, which car rentals are available, etc. We also look for sights and attractions that we might find between any given airport and our destination - we do love exploring. We're willing to fly into a more distant airport if we can get the services and amenities that we like. Even though our choice of airport might be inconvenient to others, it usually gives us a better trip. |